Imagining the cosmopolitan global citizen? Parents’ choice of international schools in Kuwait

Abstract

This chapter examines the links between parents, school curriculum and teaching practices in international schools in Kuwait to understand how they are responding to globalisation and educating students for twenty-first century capacities. With increasing marketization of schooling globally, parental choice rests upon decisions about the kind of education that will best prepare their children for the future. In the Middle East, there is considerable change occurring, although Kuwait has a longer history of US international schools and British schools than many other Arabic speaking countries in the region. Nevertheless there has been a rapid increase in international schools and many local providers are emerging. This chapter uses cosmopolitan theory to analyse interviews with parents in three accredited international bilingual schools in Kuwait. These schools teach both Arabic and international English curricula. Each school represents a certain category; the first school has a reputation for having ‘high quality’ education; the second school favours a more conservative Islamic environment, and the third school offers special needs and inclusive education in addition to main stream classes. Parents were asked about their reasons for choosing an international school and their responses were considered in relation to globalisation - of the English language, Western curriculum (or international education) - and the effect of these schools and their education on the students’ identity and culture. The parents’ responses include views about the curriculum and teachers’ capacities. The benefits of international schools, from the parents’ perspectives, on preparing their children for a future in the twenty-first century will be discussed in relation to Weenink’s (Sociology 42(6): 1089-1106, 2008) concept of cosmopolitan capital. The findings suggest that the parents are primarily ‘pragmatic’ cosmopolitans rather than dedicated cosmopolitans. This leads to an insight into the kinds of capacities parents believe are required and therefore their evaluation of the education in these schools.